George’s entry this morning drew my attention to the thread on Wealth Bondage and the string of really viscious and ad hominem comments levelled both toward individuals and the academic institution. Well, sad to say, it doesn’t surprise me. Other than some spam, the only two comments I’ve ever wiped from this blog have been from the “editor” of an organization called academicsatire.com which consisted of nasty little attacks on me, on my wife, and on our “privileged” lifestyle. Then there’s the general culture we live in, at least here in the States, where the word “academic” borders on a pejorative, where “professor” is a vaguely ridiculous title conjuring images of an absent-minded rumply eccentric who can’t quite get it through their pointy head that no one really takes their kooky ideas seriously. (Coincidence that in many states these days higher education is first on the budget chopping block while K-12 is treated—rightly—as sacrosanct?)
I’m tired of it. I’m proud of what I do, and I think it sucks that we’ve developed such a collective certainty that “academia” isn’t the real world, that the ivory tower really exists (tried MapQuest, couldn’t find it), that ideas, even “theory” are irrelevant.
Sorry, no comments on this one. This isn’t intended as a nicely reasoned argument. I’m just speaking my mind: academics get angry too.
Posted by mgk at August 30, 2003 10:48 AM